Locked (A Labyrinth story)
by KristenSweet
Summary: Sarah is in a spot of bother after she returns from the Labyrinth, can her friends help her out or is she on her own!
1. Chapter 1

LOCKED

 **Labyrinth Fan Fiction**

Kristen Sweet

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Labyrinth (although I would run it!) Reviews appreciated, cheers x**

Sarah sat alone with her chin resting on her folded arms looking out at the rain that had seemed to lash down for an eternity. Her eyes lazily followed a drop as it meandered its way from the top to the bottom of the glass. She sighed. This was her life now: gazing out into the dank grey world from a room on the top floor of the hospital. She couldn't be sure exactly how long she had been there, the medication they administered had seemed to merge all the days into one. She hadn't spoken to anyone for months, silence consumed her. They had tried of course, but neither the staff or the doctors could get her to even squeak. Psychiatrists had talked to her, trying to pierce the barrier that Sarah had put up, but to no avail. She was the one mystery they couldn't unlock. Sarah, trapped and alone, had thought it best if she didn't open her mouth and tell the truth again for fear of what would happen if she did. The last time she really opened up her world fell apart...

It was the day after she got back from the Labyrinth. Sarah's parents wondered why there were errant feathers lying around their hallway. After his defeat, and in his haste, Jareth had dropped a few, and not noticed as he had fled the scene.

Sarah had thought about telling them a lie but she knew it would eat her up, so she sat them down and told them of her adventures in the underground. The fact that she had wished away her brother to the Goblins who had taken him, and the Goblin King who had challenged her to solve his Labyrinth to rescue the young boy. As her story unfolded, the tales of Hoggle, Sir Diddymus and Ludo made Sarah smile. But she frowned as the expressions on her father and stepmother's faces changed. Her father gave a worried look, her stepmother looking livid. Sarah was supposed to be looking after Toby not fantasizing in her room. As the story continued, her stepmother started to laugh wickedly.

"You are just like your mother!" she hissed. "Delusional!" she added. Sarah looked at her father, her eyes pleading for him to step up and rescue her from the torrent of abuse her wicked stepmother was throwing at her. Her father looked slightly guilty and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sarah, what are these stories? Why are you spouting such rubbish?" He always took Irene's side. She could never work out if it was that he was scared of his wife or that Sarah reminded him too much of the hurt her mother Linda had caused him.

"But I'm not lying," she shouted. "It happened."

Irene stood and bent down so she was a breath away from Sarah and hissed, "Get to your room and think on the amount of despair you bring to this house!" Her tone was venomous. She glared at Sarah who slipped silently from underneath her and ran upstairs. "I hate you," she cried with tears streaming down her face. "I should have stayed!" The door to her room slamming shut behind her.

In the confines of her room, she let out an ear-piercing scream. She picked up the gold music box with the figurine inside and wound the key. The high pitched melody filled the bedroom as Sarah flopped back onto her bed. Looking at the canopy above, tears started to fall. Then doubt started to creep in: had she really just dreamt it all? She closed her eyes, immediately images filled her mind. Hoggle, Sir Diddymus, Ludo and finally Jareth. Swirling around her head as the music played.

For the next two weeks, Sarah didn't speak. She didn't attend her school and she only came out of her bedroom to use the bathroom or to eat. Even when Irene threatened her. It was as if she had put herself on autopilot.

One night she sat in front of her vanity unit looking into the mirror. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Hoggle I need you." She sat for a minute gazing behind her reflection.

The last time she had seen him he had said she was only to call and they would be there for her. So here she was calling on her only friends. Nothing happened. "Hoggle, Sir Diddymus, Ludo I need you," she repeated.

Nothing.

"Jareth?" She didn't like the fact that she had used his name, but she missed her friends. Even him.

Nothing.

Anger and despair rose inside her, and with one fell swoop, she swiped everything that lay on her table onto the floor. Moving to the posters, she ripped them from their pride of place on the walls. Then her toys went flying across the room. Finally, she reached for the music box. She launched it with all her might at the door and on impact, it broke into pieces. As it hit the floor the melody started to play faintly and distorted. Sarah flopped onto her bed face-down and cried.

She must have fallen asleep, as the next thing she knew, her father and stepmother were barging in accompanied by two men in medical uniforms.

The room was a disaster with broken things strewn everywhere. As Irene stepped in she stepped on the doll that had stood in the music box. It crunched under her foot, broken forever.

Sarah sat bolt upright, pulling her knees to her chin. "Sarah," Irene said calmly with false sincerity. Sarah looked up and could see the viciousness in her eyes.

"You have to go with these gentlemen. You need help." Sarah just stared at the wall.

"Sarah, love it's only for a little while so you can get better. These ideas and delusions have been getting worse over the years. You have no friends at school and you go off on your own. You need some guidance and we can't offer that, you need a professional," her father continued.

The medics smiled sympathetically and stepped past her parents, moving over the debris on the floor towards the bed.

Sarah stood up, her arms held gently by the medics. Her brow furrowed in fury, flashing her father a hateful look. Then she spoke for the first time in weeks: "I know what happened," she screamed and tried to wriggle free of the hold but the medics tightened their grip. "Daddy!" she pleaded. Her father turned the other way.

Her voice lowered in angst towards Irene. "You have been trying to get me out since you and my father met." She struggled to get the words out through the tears that began to flow.

"You know you could have just wished me away!" With that, she was escorted from the house.

Robert put his arm around Irene as they followed, watching Sarah being put in the ambulance. Irene smirked and lay her head on Roberts' chest.

There were no windows in the ambulance so Sarah just gazed around inside not paying particular attention to the questions that were being asked by the medics.

"Sarah please could you answer me?" She blinked slowly as her eyes came to rest on a medic. He had kind eyes, she thought to herself but she wasn't ready to speak again just yet so she just stared.

Sarah had resigned herself to the fact that whatever had happened in the Labyrinth during those thirteen hours would stay buried within her.

Eventually, their destination, Higham sanatorium, came into view. A vast sprawling gothic building with towers and ornate gargoyles adorning the brickwork. The windows were high and barred which slightly reduced the charm of the otherwise resplendent building. Sarah looked and took in her surroundings. She was sure the gargoyle directly above the front entrance moved. She shook the feeling and was escorted through the big wooden doors into a spacious foyer. There was a large oak desk to the left and a grand staircase in front. The ceilings were high and dark with beams arching into the roof. The walls were painted a sickly yellow colour, and corridors led off to the left and right. Sarah strained to see as she was brought before the reception desk.

A rather rotund, middle-aged woman sat at the table, her dishwater brown hair in a tightly wound bun. Her face, though chubby, was smooth with slightly rosy cheeks. A pair of half-moon glasses perched precariously on the end of her nose. Sarah smiled awkwardly as the woman stood up.

The medic to Sarah's left gave the receptionist a clipboard. The woman took it and read. "Ah, Sarah Williams." She looked Sarah up and down and then picked up the phone.

"Doctor Fairchild your patient has arrived," she said. "Yes, of course, I'll get them to show her up." She placed the receiver back on the cradle. "Gavin, James, take her up to the third floor, the doctor is waiting for her." The medics nodded and ushered Sarah to the stairs. Sarah nodded to the receptionist who ignored the gesture and sat back down. _Some people are just too rude!_ she thought.

Climbing the stairs she noticed a stained glass window where the stairs split into two, one going left and one right. The light that came through the glass threw beautiful coloured shapes onto the burgundy carpet. She was guided to the left and towards a darker, more sinister-looking part of the hospital. There were wooden doors with small windows at the top to her left and right all closed. Another turn to the right took them to a smaller staircase. They had to wait as a nurse dressed in white scrubs passed them and disappeared into one of the rooms.

As they approached the third floor no carpet adorned the stairs just plain grey concrete. Sarah likened them to the Escher room but this time there was no upside down stairs, baby or a Goblin King. Entering the next door brought a sudden contrast. This level was stark and painted blinding white, it was like a hospital corridor with a workstation and nurses milling around.

Now Sarah could hear noises. People noises. Screams, wails and shouting, though she couldn't see where they were coming from. She gulped and started to feel scared.

A man walked towards the group, smartly dressed in a brown woollen suit with a white shirt and brown zigzag tie. He had a name badge: "DOCTOR I. S. FAIRCHILD Psychiatrist." "Sarah, I presume?" he said in a welcoming and upbeat tone. Sarah just nodded. She wasn't going to give an inch.

"Thank you, fellas, you can go get a coffee now," he smiled. Sarah felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder as James gave her a wink and wandered off with Gavin.

Sarah was startled by Doctor Fairchild clapping his hands. "Now then Miss Williams, your room," he beamed.

He guided her to the left past, numerous doors until they reached the end of the corridor. The Doctor fumbled with the large bunch of keys he was carrying and mumbled: "I can never find the right one straight away!" Sarah rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ah! Here we are", he said and turned the large key in the lock. With a clank the door opened.

The room was as white as the hallway with a solitary table and small single metal bed with grey and white sheets.

The room was completely bare with no pictures or other decoration only a small barred window on one wall. She wandered in and looked out. Down below, she saw a small graveled courtyard with what appeared to be stable buildings in a square around the outside.

The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed and said, "Sarah, my dear Sarah, please join me." He patted the blanket beside him. "I want to explain why you are here and what we offer," Moving to the bed, Sarah sat down next to him.

The Doctor looked at her and raised his eyebrows."Nothing?" he asked. He spoke as if trying to provoke her into talking. Sarah stayed silent.

"You are here because your parents are very worried about your behaviour. These imaginary Goblins and fairies and more recently your anger and then silence. They have another child and they feel it wise to protect him from you." Sarah frowned. _P_ _rotect Toby from_ _me_ _?_ A look of sorrow enveloped her face and she turned to look out of the window.

"Well Sarah, until you talk there is not much I can do to help you. We will be running tests and examinations in the next few days to determine what treatment you will receive."

Sarah screamed silently inside. _Why_ _is_ _this happening to_ _me_ _?_ _A_ _ll_ _this_ _because_ _I had_ _told the truth?_

"Is it to be just silence?" He paused. "As you wish Sarah." The Doctor stood up and backed towards the door. "Get yourself settled in, and I will see you in the morning." The door closed with a bang and Sarah heard the key turn in the lock.

The room dimmed as the afternoon sun dipped behind a cloud. This was it. She had been locked away in an asylum because her stepmonster wanted her father all to herself! She flung herself back on the bed.

For several months the doctors ran test after test on her, finally coming to the conclusion that she had schizophrenia. The first course of antipsychotic drugs they administered turned Sarah into a zombie-like creature. The other patients had found her fascinating. Prodding and poking her and screaming in her ears while she ate in the communal dining room. Sarah locked her mind away from the outside world, her only release was her memories of the time she had spent in the Labyrinth.

She still hadn't spoken a word. Her birthday came and went but her only visitors were doctors. The effect of the drugs made the days fly by but then after around 6 months, the doctors had weaned her off them to try an alternative treatment.

The rain slowed slightly as she sat. The drugs were finally leaving her system. Doctor Fairchild had said that she needed a clear head once more to see if that would help her release whatever demons were affecting her.

 _But it's not demons that plague my dreams_ , she thought. _It's_ _the_ _Goblin King and his subjects._

She gazed down to the rain-soaked courtyard below. From the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of a figure in black. She squinted her eyes trying to follow the form but it disappeared before she focussed properly on it.

This had been happening more and more just lately. She would sometimes wake in the middle of the night and notice dark shadows in the corner of the room, but as she looked they seemed to vanish.

The morning came and Sarah was having a new form of treatment to try and get her to open up, a form of hypnotherapy. Simon the porter had taken her to the room where she was strapped to the treatment chair, the restraints were tight and restricted the blood flow to her wrists and ankles.

Doctor Fairchild appeared along with a blond haired man wearing black jeans, blue shirt, grey waistcoat and matching bow tie. _He_ _doesn't_ _look like a doctor more a teacher_ , Sarah thought.

"Now Sarah, this is Doctor Parks, a trained hypnotherapist. He is going to put you under hypnosis and see if we can't banish those demons!" Doctor Fairchild was always in a jovial mood. He had never raised his voice in all the time that Sarah had been there, even when dealing with very challenging patients.

Doctor Parks pulled up a chair and sat next to Sarah. He adjusted the levers underneath her chair and brought it down to his level. "Hello Sarah," he said in a smooth English accent "Let's go for a walk in your subconscious shall we?" He produced a pocket watch. It was silver with an ever decreasing circle design on its back. As it swung, it turned and Sarah caught a glimpse of the clock face. Thirteen!

Shocked, her eyebrows raised and fell as the watch swung from side to side.

"Sarah, precious you are feeling sleepy. Watch the clock spin and move. Picture yourself in a safe place." Sarah tried in vain to pull away from the watch but her eyes were drawn to it, swinging in half-circles as the doctor's soothing voice melted her resolve. She tried to fight it but her eyes closed as she succumbed and she found herself standing on the hill outside the Labyrinth.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Labyrinth (But would love a crack at running it)**

 **Just want to say thanks for the reviews, keep um coming, it helps me write xxx**

CHAPTER 2

Sarah watched as the sun rose over the Goblin city. The silhouette of the Castle and the twists and turns of the Labyrinth all came slowly into view.

It felt so real except for Doctor Parks' voice echoing in her ears. "Sarah, what do you see? Where are you?" she could hear him ask.

"I'm in the underground, Doctor Parks," she replied. But the doctor heard nothing but silence.

Doctor Fairchild watched Sarah with a look of concern. She was strapped down with her eyes closed on the chair. "I had hoped that she would speak while she was under," he said in a matter of fact way. "It worked with other patients who had held their tongue," he added.

Doctor Parks frowned and held Sarah's arm. "Yes, it would seem we have a rather special case. But I will keep trying."

"Doctor Parks, I'm back in my safe place, to where my friends are." Taking a deep breath she skipped down the hill towards the Labyrinth.

She had hoped to see Hoggle at the entrance but there was no-one around, not even the biting fairies fluttering in and out of the flowers.

"Strange!" she mused as she got closer to the entrance. The stone doors groaned and clunked as she approached, scraping across the floor and making a grinding sound as they opened. Sarah stepped gingerly through to find herself once again in the maze.

She remembered to go to the right as that was the way she had gone before. Once again she was running, jumping over fallen logs and avoiding rocks on the pathway and twigs that were growing out from within the stone walls. This time her clothing hindering her. Hospital nightgown and slippers were the fashion for her these days. Carefully, she ran until she noticed the stone entrance to the Worm's burrow. She crouched down by the wall to get a better look, but the worm didn't seem to be at home "Ello? Anyone there?" she called softly, but not even the worms missus replied. "Seems not," she thought. She stood up and faced the opposite wall.

Instantly she knew where the turn was. Walking forward she stopped and looked around.

If she went to the right she would repeat her journey. "Well then, the left might just be a quicker way," she said to herself. It was good to hear her own voice once again. Not using it for so long had been hard work, she hadn't realised how much she had missed it.

She gazed down at the worm stone one more time and quickly became nervous. Where was everyone?

"Sarah!" she heard the Doctor call again. "Where are you?"

"Inside the Labyrinth now, Doc!" She smiled. "But there is no-one here. I have to find my friends."

The path to the left was indeed easier but looked different compared to before. This time, the walls on either side had large cracks in them. Some stones were missing altogether with weeds growing from the gaps. As she walked, she ran her fingers across the dusty stones, they seemed to shudder in response to her touch.

Soon she found herself in the junkyard outside the walls of the Goblin City. The mounds of debris were comprised of every sort of household rubbish you could think of: chairs and tables, old doors, kitchen utensils, even children's toys including battered and torn teddy bears. While Sarah was climbing through the mountain of rubbish she was surprised when she noticed her music box shoved between an old car door and a fridge. As she leant forward to take it, she smiled to herself. In her anger back at her father's house she had destroyed it, but now, here it was safe and sound in her hands. Once again she turned the key and music started to play.

Clutching the box made it a little harder to balance as she was only using one arm, but she managed to clamber over the last pile and onto solid ground.

The junk-yard had been so quiet that the eeriness of it made a shiver run up Sarah's back. Not even bird song could could be heard. The only sound was the melody coming from the music box.

Even the entrance to the Goblin City was different. It now looked older than when she had first seen it. The oval gates were attached by only one hinge and hung away from the wall like they had been ripped off. Treading carefully over them she came to the door with the large metal robot suit of armour that previously had been guarding the city. Now, it was broken with the body armour rusting away and its mechanical workings open to the elements. It was a very sorry sight indeed.

The music box slowed to a stop and the air was once again still and silent. Sarah decided that she would definitely come back for it and placed it down by the giant robot.

"Hellooooo," she called into the city. The only response was the sound of her own voice echoing around the empty streets. Sarah gasped at the sight before her. The city was in ruins, even more so than when she had fought the Goblins. The stones that Ludo had called, sat peacefully in their resting places. The houses were roofless with the windows smashed and doors missing. It looked as if a war had raged inside the town.

As she wandered closer to the castle she stopped in her tracks. A lone black hooded figure stood in her way on the steps in front of the castle. "Who are you?" Sarah asked warily as she studied the form before her.

"You did this!" he hissed in a gravelly voice, pointing a long, gloved finger at her "You destroyed everything." He paused for a moment. "You have to fix it!" With a swirl of black smoke he was gone. Sarah was confused. She found the nearest step and sat down, her head in her hands. "How did I do all this?"

"Sarah, in a moment I will click my fingers and you will wake up," said Doctor Park. She sat upright throwing her hands in the air "Not yet Doc, pleaseeeeee."

Before she could say or do anything there was a snap and Sarah was back in the hospital. Her eyes sprung open and she immediately tried to get up, struggling against the restraints. She was angry and frustrated that she had been yanked from the underground at the crucial moment. She glared at the Doctor beside her. She wanted to scream at them but she knew that it wouldn't help. Feeling deflated and weak, her face softened and once again she became still.

"Sarah, why are you so angry?" Doctor Fairchild asked. He approached the chair and began to undo the straps that bound her. As soon as her arms were free she rubbed her wrists, relieved that the unpleasant experience was over… for now.

Her eyes fell on Doctor Parks who had his back to her at a table across the room. He was frantically writing on a clipboard. He seemed to sense that she was looking because he raised his head but didn't turn round.

"We will help you Sarah, but you have to talk to us," he sighed and continued writing.

Once she was back in her room she thought back to the Labyrinth, had it just been in her head, or had she been transported there somehow.

Who was that black figure? Why did he look so familiar? After a few minutes, it came to her. The figure had been in the hospital with her, she had to find out who it was and what he wanted from her...


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Labyrinth (although keeper of the sacred bulge, I would jump at!) Reviews appreciated. Ta very much.**

During the months that Sarah had been in the hospital, she had rarely been outside her room and certainly nowhere near the communal area. Today was different. The effects of the drugs she had been taking were out of her system and the solitude was now making her feel a little stir crazy.

After lunch she made her way down the corridor towards the day room. It was surrounded by glass so the Doctors and staff could keep their eyes on the patients. There were large barred windows which filled the room with late summer sunshine. In one corner on a very high shelf stood a TV. There were tables and chairs scattered sporadically throughout the room all with jigsaw puzzles, colouring books and pens, or board games and cards on them. Stimulus for the masses.

Slowly she peered into the room from the doorway. There were five people there. She looked at small ginger-haired man with a huge moustache. He sat playing a board game with a larger man, with scruffy brown hair. Sarah noticed that he had large sad-looking eyes. He stared at her as she wandered through the door. She found a lone seat just inside the room which she quickly claimed and as she sat down, her eyes wandered to the rest of the occupants.

At the back of the room, watching the TV, sat a woman with a hooded jacket pulled over her head. Now and again she would fling her arms in the air and cheer loudly.

Near the windows an old man was tending to some potted plants that adorned the sill. He was watering them and she could just hear him talking to them too. He turned sharply as Sarah watched, giving her a wry smile and a wink, then went back to what he was doing.

Sitting to her right, with his clip board was Doctor Parks, who was also observing the scene. The room was quiet apart from a few hushed conversations and the occasional cheer over the sound of the TV.

Doctor Parks smiled at her as she sat people-watching then he got up from where he was sitting and walked to Sarah.

"Good afternoon, and how are we doing?" he asked, smiling.

Sarah reciprocated the smile and shrugged.

"I'm glad to see you out of your room. We have a session booked in for..." He checked the diary that had been sticking out if his jacket pocket. "Ah yes, tomorrow morning!" Let's see if we can get you to talk to me." He patted her shoulder and moved back to his seat.

The large man that had been playing board games approached Sarah. "Wanna join our game?" he said with a drawn out southern accent. "We playing Scrabble." He followed a little vaguely and wandered off again before Sarah had a chance to blink.

 _What a strange man_ , she thought, but smiled at the idea of Scrabble. It had been one of her all-time favourite games when she was younger.

She slowly approached the table and smiled as the small man bowed his head and offered her the spare chair. "Come to join us lady?" he asked, as she sat down. Sarah nodded, her eyes set on the board. To her amazement all the words on the board were jumbled, making no sense at all. She rolled her eyes, but decided she would play along. The larger man said, "My name is Leo, his is Deano." Sarah began to feel a little ignorant as she sat silently.

"Leo," called Doctor Parks "The lady's name is Sarah and right now she doesn't speak so be nice!" He trailed off. Leo put his hand on Sarah's. "Sarah, Leo's new friend!" Sarah pulled her hand away and fiddled with the lettered bricks that Deano had dealt her. She nodded and smiled at Leo, who was beaming.

"Shall we?" interrupted Deano "Sarah you can go first!"

Sarah looked down and examined the letters that were on the little plinth. She frowned as she tried to make a word from the seven letters she had been handed. P. She looked at the board and placed down th next to a B. Deano squealed with delight and clapped his hands wildly. "Oh Sarah, good show. That is a fantastical word." He mumbled something else and then proclaimed "56 points for you young Lady!" Sarah stifled a giggle. The letters did not actually spell a word and yet here was this poor man ecstatic with it!

As Leo was taking his turn, Sarah glanced up at the wall of glass. Suddenly, she saw the cloaked figure glide past. She jumped up scaring Leo so much that he let out a roar. Sarah quickly moved from the seat and fled out into the corridor.

She was there just in time to see the figure's cloak disappear around a doorway. Sarah looked to see if anyone was watching, then followed. Sarah pushed the door open and stepped through. She was in almost total darkness apart from a faint light emanating from the top of a spiral staircase. She started up the stairs.

She looked up while she climbed, finally reaching a small round room with nothing but bare brickwork and a small fireplace. The window was just a narrow slit so she assumed she was in one of the towers she had seen when she first arrived. The figure in the hood stood at the far end.

Sarah took a deep breath.

"Who are you?" she asked, finally speaking for the first time.

"I am Grigore, High Warlock of the four realms," he boomed.

The figure turned and pulled back the cloak's hood revealing shoulder-length hair that was as black as coal. His face was young but weathered and his eyes a piercing blue colour. "Sarah Williams!" He said coldly.

"Champion of our Labyrinth. Destroyer of Cities." Sarah's mouth dropped open.

"I don't understand," she exclaimed.

"You damned them Sarah. No-one is ever meant to beat the Labyrinth, it's unheard of." He paused and stared at her in anger. "And certainly not by a human child!", he said.

"I'm so sorry," was her only defence. "I just wanted my brother back." She stepped towards him.

"What do you mean I have damned them?"

"The Labyrinth is a sentient being, and fearlessly guards the Goblin Kingdom and keeps it from harm. When you made your way through dangers untold and hardships un-numbered and won, you destroyed the Labyrinth's defences. In its anger it blamed King Jareth for making you run and those who helped you to beat it, for the destruction. The sentence for such violation is banishment from the Fae world. Sarah gasped and her hands shot to her face, as she thought about her friends and Jareth. It made her stomach churn.

"Is there anything to be done?" She asked frantically.

The man's face softened slightly. "They were banished to the four corners of your earth, but I used magic to gather them and bring those affected here".

"Here? Where?" Sarah asked quizzically.

"To this very place, and it is no coincidence you are here too, Sarah Williams. There may be a way to fix this mess. I cannot tell you who is who, as I do not know."

"They too do not know who they really are, but you Sarah have to show them. If they remember, they will be set free from the curse and the Labyrinth will be restored to how it was before."

Grigore started to slowly disappear. "You have 13 days in which to solve this dilemma or your friends will be locked up here forever!" With that Grigore was gone. Sarah slid down the wall into a heap on the floor and cried.

"Sarah," she said to herself at last, "Dry your eyes and save the Labyrinth and your friends!"..


End file.
